The Democrat Debate

Thought #1
One of the Republican narratives has been about how the moderators and questioners made things worse for their candidates by the questions they asked. Pitting the candidates against each other, focusing far too much on Trump, etc. I was interested in seeing how this debate would go — would Anderson Cooper’s questions and approach confirm that narrative. After the first round of questions, I think the narrative may not be reality-based. He’s going after the candidates directly and putting them each on the spot.

Thought #2 Where are all the candidates??? Oh, wait, it’s the Democrat Primary Debate. Let me try again … where are all the candidates. I am monumentally disappointed in my options here, but Bernie gives me hope.

Thought #4 … will Martin O’Malley’s every answer result in him near tears?

Thought #5 … this goes to all who speak about the problems in Syria and the rest of the Middle East. I have yet to hear one single candidate or commentator actually offer any specific workable alternative to what is happening now. Leadership — that’s not an alternative. Stop Russian bullying — that’s not an alternative. I really get tired of seeing people criticize Obama’s current decisions and actions without offering credible alternatives. At least Sanders is willing to say “enough, we’re not doing this anymore.”

Thought #6 … fascinating how Hillary lauds her time with Obama and all she did there and has taken numerous positions now that are critical of Obama’s foreign policy maneuvers. Meanwhile Sanders responses on Syria are exactly where I am.

Thought #7 … Benghazi. I so wish that this issue would die the death it deserves. During GWB’s presidency there were numerous attacks on U.S. embassies that resulted in more deaths than at Benghazi. But nobody cares about that. This Benghazi debate has been a politics-driven effort from day one. It needs to be gone.

Thought #8 … Wow. Chaffee needs to not talk about foreign policy.

Thought #9 … clearly, the crowd is packed with Sanders supporters. Seems he is the only one who gets a reaction from the crowd. But I fundamentally disagree with his response that climate change is a national security threat. I don’t disagree that climate change is an issue that needs to be addressed, but that doesn’t make it a national security threat.

Thought # … well I don’t know the number, I thought I just posted #10 but now I can’t find it and can’t remember what the hell the comment was … so, let’s just say this is Thought #11 … Hillary really needs to not laugh, but she wins points for saying “No,” to a request to respond.

Thought #12 … there is an inherent advantage the Dems have. Since there’s only five of them, each candidate gets an opportunity for longer responses to provide more detail. The biggest problem with the Reeps debates is the crowd forced them all into such short answers they couldn’t do anything other than repeat their buzz words.

Thought #13 … we don’t need to create millions of jobs, a free college education, and some of the other things mentioned. Those are all great ideas, but they won’t do a thing to address the fundamental problem. What we actually need is a return to the days when companies treated their workers as the valuable resource they are and did what they could to provide them with benefits and stability so they could live their lives and prosper. As long as companies are driven only by the bottom line, nothing the government does will make a difference.

Thought #14 … whoopsie. Clinton claimed she went to Wall Street and told them to stop foreclosing in 2007??? Sorry, but that’s not possible. The foreclosures didn’t start until the Great Recession started in 2008. She simply cannot claim she did that in 2007.

Thought #17 … I don’t disagree with Webb’s complaints about the time for each, but he’s just coming off as a whiny crybaby.

I remember Thought #10 … I was in Vegas last week for the first time ever. I won $375 at the blackjack table. Do you think any of these candidates would prefer to be at a gaming table than where they are right now? If they were, do you think they would win $$$?

Thought #18 … a free college education is one of those issues where I just fundamentally disagree with today’s progressive/liberal movement. While I believe that college expenses need to come down and be more reasonable, I don’t think making it free makes sense. I believe there are things where having a stake in the thing makes it more worthwhile, more valuable, and more effective and efficient. A college education is one of those things. So subsidize it like it was back when I went to college, when my parents, with a sole income and very, very middle class, could afford to send their children to college without borrowing a dime. Unlike today, where I can’t come close to covering the costs for my two kids on an income that is much more than my parents’. So much more to say here, but I’ll leave it at that.

Thought #19 … how would you be different from Obama? Clinton’s answer … “I’d be a woman.” Are you frickin’ kidding me? In some respects that defines the problem with her candidacy. She thinks it is hers. She deserves it. She’s earned it. It is her turn. And it is time for a woman President. That difference alone justifies her candidacy and her ascension to the throne.

Thought #20 … yes, she’s not asking people to vote for her because of her last name, but she certainly is asking for people to vote for her simply because she is a woman.

Thought #21 … does anybody else believe Clinton that she and the President of the United States were walking up and down the hallways desperately looking for the “secret” meeting between Indian and China?

Thought #22 … I’m really disappointed that the Dodgers are winning.

Thought #23 … once again, Clinton’s final response about which enemy she’s most proud to have … the Republicans … doesn’t speak well to her ability or willingness to cross the divide. It throws red meat to the true believers on the progressive side, but it doesn’t speak to the members of the vast middle who want to hear about solutions and compromise.

Thought #24 … I liked O’Malley’s comparison to what you hear from Republicans these days.

A Final Thought … I don’t think this debate changed the dynamic on the Democrat side at all.

Hard to criticize the Cubs for making the playoffs as a wild card team when they had the third best record in baseball. I do find it interesting how the wild card teams seem to excel in the playoffs these days. Royals and Giants last year. Cubs this year and the Astros still with a shot in the AL.

I didn’t get a chance to watch it. Was tied up with something else. But I enjoyed reading through your thoughts about it. And, of course, CNN is repeating everything ad nauseum, so I feel like I caught it!

I wanted to watch it but, sadly, can’t operate the fricken high tech remote we have in here that turns on every component to the big screen TV separately. What ever happened to the good ole days of power on, power off? (Greg, the TV person, is OOT)

Anyway, I did enjoy reading your thoughts. I haven’t been on FB yet today, so I don’t know how the world is perceiving the event. I do know you make more sense than most. Maybe you should run…???

I especially liked, ” What we actually need is a return to the days when companies treated their workers as the valuable resource they are and did what they could to provide them with benefits and stability so they could live their lives and prosper.”

When I first became a nurse (LPN) in 1984, the hospital offered a pension plan and deferred compensation if you were willing to save toward retirement. By the time I became an RN (1991) all of the was gone…the hospitals didn’t even offer 401Ks (and NO matching contributions) or IRAs until years later. Nurse turnover was, and still is, rampant d/t “burnout”. Nurses rarely stay in one place for more than a few years. Even with the shortages, we’ve always been deemed expendable. Higher pay somewhere else and lack of benefits are another incentive to just move on. It wasn’t until 2001 that I started saving for retirement. What I manged to put away is in a moderately conservative mutual fund and two IRAs. I could probably live on it for two years with my SS. Sad.

But I did pay for two kids to go to college, even though neither earned degrees. *sigh*

Yep. What Reagan did was make it OK for people to no longer care about your neighbor, your employee, or anybody else. He made selfishness acceptable. At least that’s what I trace it back to. What he did, what the Reagan Revolution was really about, was telling people we only had to care about ourselves.